Rice in line for England call-up on Wednesday

Newly-eligible Declan Rice is in line for his first England call-up on Wednesday as Gareth Southgate continues to look to the future.

While this summer’s inaugural Nations League Finals loom large, attention first turns to the Euro 2020 qualification as the Three Lions kick-off the year against the Czech Republic and Montenegro.

Southgate names his England squad for the upcoming Group A openers at St George’s Park tomorrow, when West Ham midfielder Rice is set to be called up after seeing his international switch from the Republic of Ireland ratified by Fifa last week.

The 20-year-old, who was born in London and has Irish grandparents, considers himself “to be of mixed nationality” and played for the Republic’s youth teams before representing them three times at senior level.